NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress on Friday released its first list of 291 candidates out of total 294 constituencies for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections.
While announcing the list, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said she will vacate her home turf Bhowanipore in Kolka and contest from Nandigram constituency.
"Today, we are releasing a list of 291 candidates which includes 50 women, 42 Muslim candidates. On 3 seats of north Bengal, we not putting up our candidates. I will contest from Nandigram," said Mamata Banerjee.
"Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay will be contesting from Bhowanipore constituency in the upcoming assembly elections," she added.
Former TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari had earlier offered to contest on a BJP ticket from Nandigram against Mamata Banerjee.
His BJP colleague and former Bengal minister Rajib Banerjee spoke about the development after the Bengal poll meeting held at party president J P Nadda’s Delhi home on Thursday for over five hours.
Bengal could now witness a royal fight between Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu, her former lieutenant in the Nandigram anti-farmland acquisition stir of 2007.
In 2019, Trinamool bagged 1,30,659 votes from Nandigram while BJP secured 62,268 votes and Left 9,353.
Despite having the numbers in her favour, Banerjee won’t just be fighting Suvendu but the entire Adhikari family (though father Sisir and brother Dibyendu are still with Trinamool). Suvendu had announced the strategy for turning the Trinamool margin upside down from a public meeting in Hooghly on January 21.
“They (Trinamool) are relying on 62,000 votes (in Nandigram) but I have the support of 2.13 lakh people who chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’,” he had said, pointing directly to a polarisation battle between BJP and Trinamool. Suvendu had also announced he would fetch votes from the other camp too.